Bet Shalom Congregation was formed in 1981 with the intent of creating a small, intimate and welcoming Reform synagogue with a warm approach to Jewish tradition. While our congregation has grown to over 800 families since those early days, we remain committed to preserving our intimacy even as membership increases.

Bet Shalom is a community, as well as a congregation. We are single, married, widowed and divorced. We are LGBTQ. We are single parents, coupled parents, Jews by birth and Jews by choice. We are proud of this diversity and provide a variety of ways for each individual to express his or her Judaism.

After meeting as a congregation at the Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park for four years, our first home of our own was in Hopkins where we remained for 17 years. We dedicated our current building in May of 2002. Soon after the formation of Bet Shalom, Rabbi Norman M. Cohen became our first Rabbi, and after more than three decades became Rabbi Emeritus on January 1, 2016. Rabbi David Locketz came to Bet Shalom in 2004 as Assistant, then Associate Rabbi. On January 1, 2016 he was elevated to Senior Rabbi. Rabbi Jill E. Crimmings, our Rabbi Educator, joined our community in 2013. Cantor Sarah Lipsett-Allison has been with us for over 18 years.

Values

Bet Shalom's core values are best expressed in the congregation's founding preamble, and its current vision and mission statements. From the beginning, the emphasis has always been on participation, inclusivity, especially of mixed heritage families, and community.

Torah - We are committed to lifelong Jewish learning and living. Bet Shalom is a place for Jews and their families to deepen their knowledge of Jewish life, ritual and the Hebrew language, and to enhance their observation of Reform Judaism.

Avodah– We are devoted to Jewish worship of God, spiritual fulfillment, ritual and participation in life cycle events.

Gemilut Chasadim– We are dedicated to tikkun olam – the repairing of our world through the pursuit of tzedakah (justice), peace and deeds of loving kindness. Through our actions, we strive to fulfill our Jewish responsibility to care for our community, our nation, Israel and our world.

We, at Bet Shalom believe in being responsive to the diverse needs of our congregants by building a caring inclusive community that we are pleased to call our “family of friends”. We are sensitive to the need for inclusion of both traditional and non-traditional family structures. We welcome individuals and families who are committed to preserving a Jewish way of life.

We strive to be an intimate community and seek to make Judaism accessible through multiple avenues for participation in synagogue life – from worship to celebration, committee work, education and participation in various chavurot (common interest groups based on the Jewish values of community and friendship).

We realize that Bet Shalom must also have stable organizational foundation in order to contribute to the Jewish lives of our community. To preserve the vitality of our congregation, we are committed to the effective management of our human, physical and financial resources.